Takeoff
by SavvyJackie
Summary: Poe and Rey are brought closer together when he volunteers to help her improve her skills as a pilot.


_A/N: In my opinion, there wasn't enough Poe/Rey interaction in the movie. Thus, this one-shot was born._

* * *

Once he saw the small quiver of her lip, Poe knew Rey was exercising quite a lot of self-restraint in trying not to smile as she stared at the two greatest galactic heroes ever known conversing with each other in the center of the room.

Luke and Leia spoke in lowered voices. Leia's hands firmly gripped Luke's shoulders, and she looked up at him with teary eyes. Poe didn't need to hear their conversation to know what they were discussing. He observed Luke's gaze and how it wavered from Leia to the floor, his shoulders slackening as he took in the news. He had only arrived with Rey a few minutes ago, looking weary and solemn, but he had revived at the sight of his sister, only to be struck down again.

Poe noticed Rey's smile melting away. She knew what they were discussing, too.

Poe walked forward and stood beside her. "Rey, is it?" he asked. He smiled at her when she turned to face him. She seemed slightly startled to be brought out of her daze.

"I don't think we've formally met. I'm Poe Dameron." He stuck out his hand.

She hesitated momentarily before accepting his handshake. Her grip was firm, and her skin felt warm and calloused, the latter likely from gripping weapons more often than not.

"Yes, I know who you are. Finn's told me about you and how you escaped the First Order together."

Poe's smile grew at the memory as he let go of her hand. It had been weeks since the incident, but it felt like it happened a lifetime ago. He had tried to abandon all memories of his capture and concurrent imprisonment, but he had often looked back on his meeting with Finn. A jumpy but spirited guy, Poe had taken an instant liking to him. Or perhaps that had been more to do with the fact that Finn was his shortcut to freedom.

After losing him in the TIE fighter crash, he searched for Finn, only to come across the carcass of the spacecraft as a solemn sign that Finn may have suffered a violent death.

Yet, by some miracle, he had found him again on D'Qar, thrumming with life and nervous energy, just like the first time Poe saw him. After the chaos of the battle against the First Order, it was primarily Finn that told him about Rey, filling him in on their adventures and how she discovered she was Force-sensitive, freed herself from her prison on Starkiller Base by the time Han and Finn arrived to help, and battled with Kylo Ren to reemerge unscathed.

In short, Poe gathered that she was an impressive warrior. The type they needed on the Resistance. He could sense more important things to come for her. It's not everyday you happened upon someone with the ability to yield the Force and Luke Skywalker for company.

There was something else that told him she was meant for great things- a certain gleam in her eyes, a firmness to her posture. Something that reminded him of a younger version of himself, eager to become a pilot for the New Republic, to explore what was out there, to feel the rush of souring through the galaxy in the cockpit of any and every aircraft in existence.

"And you're a commander in the Resistance," she said in awe. Her gaze passed over his uniform. "A pilot. What can you fly?"

"Anything," he told her, not pompously, but truthfully.

Her eyes sparkled like a child's. "Is that a requirement? To be a pilot in the Resistance?"

"No," Poe laughed. "But it helps. I heard you're a skilled pilot yourself. Or so Finn tells me."

Rey shrugged. "I'm not bad. Though I have yet to fly an X-wing fighter. I heard those were complicated."

Poe considered her for a moment, the sparkle of curiosity in her eyes. He was never running low on commander duties to attend to, so perhaps the idea that popped into his head wasn't the most responsible. Yet he couldn't resist. "I could teach you how to fly one."

"Really?" she said.

"Unless you don't want to," Poe shrugged. "I'm sure you have many important secret missions to attend to, now that you're on a path to becoming a Jedi."

Pink tinged her cheeks at the mention of her Force-sensitivity. Poe imagined she wasn't used to her status yet. And who could blame the kid? It was a big responsibility to live up to, and the more people found out, the more difficult it would be for her to go to any place unrecognized, becoming slave to a fame she hadn't asked for, like the other Force-sensitive person standing in the room.

"I'm not that busy," she said. "I would love to learn more about being a pilot, and it would be an honor to learn from you, if you'll have me as your student."

"Then it's settled."

She beamed. "Thank you, Commander Dameron, You won't regret it."

"Please, call me Poe."

* * *

Rey was expertly familiar with flying light freighters, and flying an X-wing required the same fundamental knowledge. She picked up on the functions of the unfamiliar controls easily, and it wasn't long before she was soaring through the air, hoping Poe wouldn't notice how she'd lose balance every now and then after underestimating the speed with which the spacecraft flew.

Poe had warned her the X-wing would be different. Not as heavy as the Millennium Falcon she'd become accustomed to flying for these past few days, it'd take some getting used to. Rey was glad to deal with the practical lessons at the first, and when it came time to actually fly, she considered turning her back on the task.

Poe had dedicated what could be called a generous amount of time to her lessons, considering his duties as a commander for the Resistance. She hadn't wanted the lessons to go to waste, even though she knew it was an absurd notion, given her previous experience as a pilot. Yet when it came time to fly the X-wing, there was still that sliver of doubt, to man an aircraft she hadn't manned before. Flying aircrafts wasn't her main area of expertise, she thought. Fixing them was.

They practiced three times a week, four hours a day for six weeks.

After the first three weeks, it was time for Rey to take to the air.

When she climbed into the cockpit and brought down the cover, Poe had given her a reassuring thumbs up from where he stood on the ground. She saw him mouthing words, so she turned on her earpiece to hear him.

"- very dangerous."

"What?" Rey asked, alarmed. "What's dangerous?"

"I said you shouldn't worry. So long as you remember everything I've taught you, it shouldn't be very dangerous."

Rey swallowed. "Right."

She fastened her belt and put on her helmet. After it was secure, she looked for potential hazards inside the cockpit and checked the dashboard to see if there were any warning lights flashing, but all seemed to be in order.

Once she switched on the engine and heard it's characteristic drone, she took a deep breath. It had gotten very hot inside the cockpit in the short time she'd been there. She felt her forehead sweating underneath the helmet.

"You're going to do great, Rey." Poe's voice was gentle, as it often was throughout their training. "This isn't that different from the Millennium Falcon. And you wouldn't get in as much trouble if something happened to it." Rey frowned. Though he couldn't see her, having walked back to the edge of the takeoff site somewhere behind the X-wing, Rey thought he sensed the frown when he added, "Not that you will."

Rey said no more and continued working with the controls. When the X-wing lifted from the ground, Rey felt a familiar jolt in her stomach that happened whenever she was about to fly. It was followed by a spike in adrenaline which allowed her to stay focused.

The takeoff from the departure site happened more suddenly than she had hoped when she pushed the joystick back and pressed a button on its head to go faster, causing her back to be pushed into her seat rather forcefully.

She cursed, remembering how Poe said not to start off too quickly just as she'd just done. She slowed down and went up and down for a minute or so before finding a comfortable altitude to travel in a straight line in.

Not realizing she'd been holding her breath, she exhaled. At least she managed to recover with grace.

Her heart fluttered in the most pleasant way once she gave herself a moment to breathe and felt the smooth glide of the aircraft under her control as she passed over the verdant landscape of D'Qar.

Though a little bruised and battered from battle in random spots, the planet was breathtaking. Rey, who had seldom seen the growth of vegetation on her barren, sandy home planet of Jakku, had marveled at how green it all was. From her place in the sky, she had a full view of the streams of water and the pink and orange flowers that adorned the plants below. She'd never seen so much color all in one place in her entire life. The beauty of the view eased the tension in her muscles.

Her initial worry about maneuvering the aircraft was all but forgotten. Poe had been right. It wasn't very different from a light freighter after all, at least during this part.

"Rey?" Poe's voice came in through the radio. "You had a bit of a shaky takeoff. Everything under control?"

"Yes, it's all right," Rey reassured him, trying to mask the excitement from entering her voice so that he didn't think she was getting hysterical from panic. "I've got it all under control."

"What'd I tell you?" Rey could picture the grin on his face. "You're a natural."

"I haven't landed yet," Rey reminded him. "There may still be a crash somewhere in my near future." The landing was the most difficult part of the whole flight, as with any aircraft, as she well knew.

"Well, come on down, then," Poe challenged. "I'm waiting here to watch the whole thing."

Rey turned the X-wing around and flew back to the base, though she could've gone on for a little longer.

Spotting the landing site in the distance, she tightened her grip on the joystick.

"Do you want me to guide you through this one?" Poe offered. "You don't have a lot of room to land here, so it might be challenging."

"I've got this," Rey said firmly. He didn't ask again.

Unlike her takeoff, Rey's landing showed much more control. She was aware of her speed as she lowered it, and she took her time with getting into the right position, even circling around two times to find a good angle.

Rey could hear Poe muttering, "You got this, Rey, you got this," knowing he probably had his eyes trained on her from inside the observatory at the base.

The thought of him watching her made her squeeze the controls a littler tighter as she narrowed her eyes at the runway awaiting her below.

She began making her descent. She'd centered the tip of the X-wing in alignment with the guiding white lines at the center of the runway as best as she could from above, since she couldn't change direction much once she began to land.

"Excellent, excellent," Poe encouraged, his voice teeming with anticipation.

Rey's hand shot forward to press a button on the panel that released the wheels of the aircraft. Once she was close enough to the ground, she moved back the joystick to raise the tip of the X-wing and put it in the proper position to land.

The wheels touched down on the pavement with a thunk, gliding forward smoothly and without any bumps.

Rey let out an excited cry and touched her hand to her earpiece. "Poe? Poe, are you there? Did I do it right?"

No response came, but Rey soon realized why. Once she glanced through the window, she saw Poe's small figure in the distance, standing in an empty space between two other X-wings and jumping up and down. He was waving her over to where he stood. She moved the X-wing forward steadily until she arrived. He walked off to the side to let her park the X-wing.

When she climbed out of the cockpit, she saw Poe running towards her. He helped her down the small ladder leading from the cockpit.

Once her feet touched the floor, she beamed at him, exclaiming, "I did it!"

He was grinning just as wide. "I told you you could- oof."

She embraced him, the thrill of success overwhelming her. Though he returned the hug in kind, strong arms pulling her into a warm chest, Rey blushed when she pulled away, embarrassed at her burst of enthusiasm.

"Thank you, Poe." she said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, don't thank me yet. We'll still have to teach you how to use the laser cannons."

* * *

One day, he found her sitting on the edge of one of the X-wings, looking out into the sea of trees beyond the perimeter of the base with a solemn expression on her face.

They weren't scheduled to train that day, but she often came out there to admire the view. She'd told him she lived all her life in Jakku, so sights like these were still new to her. Growing up on a jungle-covered moon, he was more accustomed to the green, lush landscapes, but he admired them all the same.

"Tired of training with old Luke Skywalker?" he called out, striding up the X-wing and looking up at her with a hand shielding his eyes from the sun.

From what he'd heard, using the Force properly required a lot of discipline, concentration, and tenacity. When she wasn't busy picking up piloting skills from him, she was trailing after Luke Skywalker, obtaining wisdom on how to become a proper Jedi. What that training entailed, Poe couldn't have guessed, though it must've been taxing, given how weary she often looked. Her current expression didn't bear exhaustion, but something else.

She gave a small smile when she saw him approach. "It's been awful. Training with a legendary Jedi Master is a lot more boring than people would think."

He climbed the ladder leading to the cockpit and stepped over onto the ledge to walk over and sit beside her. "We can take a break from your lessons if you'd like."

She shook her head frantically. "No, no, I'm fine, I promise. I want to continue. There's still so much I need to learn. No breaks."

"Ah, don't worry. I wasn't going to let you slack off anyway," he nudged her with his elbow playfully, and she let out a breath of laughter. "But you do look a bit... troubled. Is something wrong, Rey?"

Her smile faded, and she looked back to the point she'd been staring at somewhere in the distance. "I'm fine," she repeated, though she didn't sound very convincing.

There were a myriad of things she could've been upset about. Han's passing. The likelihood of another conflict with the New Order, with much greater consequences, too. They always returned with bigger and better weapons.

But he didn't need to make anymore guesses once she spoke again. "I'm just thinking of Jakku. I haven't been there in months."

"Your home planet, right?"

She nodded.

"I'm sure you'll find an opportunity to visit. Heck, I could take you. I know the way. I'm sure Luke will let you go if you tell him."

The frown only deepened. "That's the thing. I don't really miss it. In fact, I'm glad I escaped."

Yet something still troubled her about having left the planet. "Have you left someone behind?"

She lowered her head and sighed. "No. Not really. My family... they left when I was five, and they never came back."

Poe's brows drew together.

Somehow, he'd never considered Rey not having a family despite never having heard her mention her last name. He didn't think much about where she came from, and it was like that with most people he met; there were never many questions about the past, or where a person came from. They were all too absorbed by the present and the uncertainty of the future to linger on the past. Too many wars, too many lives being taken.

Her positive energy and strength played a part in it too. It was hard to imagine that anything troubled her, and Poe didn't think she would voice her troubles if something did. Then again, most people never guessed that the same problem she just mentioned had once bothered him.

"I understand," he said. She looked up at him and gave him a questioning look.

"My parents served the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. My mom was a pilot, and my dad was a Pathfinder. I hardly ever saw them when I was younger because they were so busy fighting in the war. And then, when I was nine, my mother died when her aircraft was struck down by an enemy fighter."

He noticed her shift at the words, but continued. "I hardly knew her, so I didn't feel as affected as any child normally would be. I just felt strange. Strange that I no longer had to keep wondering what it would be like when she came home."

"Where was home?" Rey asked.

"Yavin 4. The jungle moon. You would've loved it there. Trees everywhere." He stuck out a hand to motion towards the landscape in front of them.

"And what about your father?"

The hand he held up dropped back to his side. "He came back after she died. For a time. Built a house for me and grandad and then left, like your family did."

"I'm sorry," Rey murmured.

Poe shook his head. "I had my grandfather, at least. I was lucky. What I'm trying to say is, I know how you feel. The doubt. The loneliness. I've felt it too."

Rey looked to him, eyes glimmering slightly. "How do I let it go? If I know they're not coming back?"

Rey's hand gripped the ledge of the X-wing, and Poe placed his own over it, giving it a small squeeze. "Embrace your new family. You're more than just a student or a soldier to the Skywalkers. And you have Finn. And me. Even BB8."

It was a relief to see her smile, two long dimples forming on both cheeks. Her eyes were still teary, but he knew she was all right when she adjusted her hand to intertwine her fingers with his and returned the squeeze.

"I guess I do."

* * *

 _A/N: I hope you enjoyed this story in all its fluffiness. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a review!_


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